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Checking in on the… NEC

Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the NEC and MAAC Conferences.

NEWARK, NJ – Player of the week was Joey Henley, a senior forward, who averaged a double-double (15 points, 11.5 rebounds) in two Sacred Heart victories. LIU freshman forward Julian Boyd earned his fourth Rookie of the Week honor with a 15 ppg, 8 rebound showing in a 1-1 week.
The standings as of Friday February 6, 2009:

Robert Morris 10-1

Mount St. Mary 8-4

LIU 7-4

Central Ct. 7-5

Sacred Heart 7-5

Quinnipiac 6-6

St.Francis (NY) 5-7

FDU 5-7

Monmouth 4-7

Wagner 3-9

St.Francis (PA) 2-9

Fans noticing the Monmouth box score on February 6th probably saw a number of unfamiliar names. Injuries have decimated a Hawk squad that dropped an 83-71 decision to Bryant. Among the infirmed…

Center Dutch Gaitley who missed his fourth straight with an ankle injury

RJ Rutledge suffered a broken foot in practice two days prior to the Bryant game, thus ending his season.

Yaniv Simpson turned an ankle in practice the day before the Bryant contest.

Coach Dave Calloway asks for no sympathy, telling the Asbury Park Press, “excuses are for losers.” Still, the Hawks suffered defensively in their loss to Bryant.

Bryant is 5-4 against NEC teams this winter. They will play a full NEC schedule next year and officially join the conference in 2012-13.

Robert Morris is putting real estate between themselves and the rest of the circuit. Keep an eye on Mt.St.Mary’s. Following an 0-3 start they have won eight straight and will be dangerous in the NEC postseason tournament.

Parity. With a month left, every team is still in the hunt for one of the eight post season tournament spots.

How strong is Mike Rice’s Robert Morris club ? They have 13 straight NEC road wins dating back to last year.

LIU’s 91-88 double overtime win over FDU at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center in Brooklyn, saw two buzzer beaters by the host Blackbirds. Junior guard David Hicks hit a fallaway jumper in regulation at the buzzer to force OT. Kyle Johnson hit a trey with .1 second left to force a second overtime – the FDU junior guard had 34 points in this wild affair that gave fans their money’s worth.

Central Connecticut sophomore forward Ken Horton can score. On the other side Horton recently blocked the 100th shot of his career.

In a 65-51 win over Wagner, Mount St.Mary’s wore throwback uniforms. They were from 1962 when the Mount captured the college division national championship. Yes, with Jim Phelan on the sidelines.

Sophomore forward Justin Rutty of Quinnipiac had a stretch of four straight games with double-doubles. He has nine for the season.

Resiliency.St.Francis (NY) bounced back from their worst NEC loss of the season, a 71-51 to Sacred Heart to defeat FDU two days later on the road. Senior guard Jamaal Womack, a solid three point shooter has been scoring well for the Terriers.

A 65-51 win at Monmouth snapped a ten game losing streak for St.Francis (PA) while Wagner continues in a tail spin. An overtime loss to FDU on Thursday marked the sixth straight Seahawk loss and eight of their last nine in the L column.

Marquee matchup for the weekend. On Saturday Robert Morris visits Central Connecticut. The Colonials are ‘road warriors’ but Howie Dickenman’s club can be a tough challenge at home. And as the following chart shows, this outcome probably will be decided by who dictates their desired tempo.